


A Not-So-Solitary Cyclist

by methylviolet10b



Category: Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Fluff, Silly, and there's a lion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 08:37:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1976307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/methylviolet10b/pseuds/methylviolet10b
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A newspaper article provokes more than laughter. Written for JWP #17.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Not-So-Solitary Cyclist

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Unrepentantly silly fluff. Reference to a canon case. And absolutely no beta. This was written in a complete rush. You have been warned.

JWP #17: **Truth is stranger than:** Use [one of these articles](http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/news/?q=victorian+strangeness) as your inspiration for today's work. I chose [this one](http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-28056499).  
  
I could not hold back the guffaw that rose to my lips. It burst forth and resounded loudly in the quiet of our sitting-room in Baker Street.  
  
Holmes, who had been hard at work at his chemical workbench, set down the retort he held. Thankfully he looked more curious than annoyed at the interruption. “Something amusing in the papers, Watson?”  
  
“Something rather incredible, actually.” I held up the copy of the Illustrated Police News and read the article aloud to Holmes, as I knew he liked me to do. Holmes’ eyebrows rose at the sensational title “A Wild Ride For Life,” but by the time I came to the lurid description of the desperate Scotsman cresting the hill mere handbreaths ahead of the hungry lion, he too bore a grin. “A thoroughly fanciful account, but novel,” he commented.  
  
“You think it a fabrication?”  
  
“Given the description of the wretched condition of the road, and the fact that the fellow fell twice trying to mount his bicycle, I should say it is at best a gross exaggeration. The beast could have been nowhere near as near to him at the start as he claimed.  Either that, or it was an extraordinarily lazy lion.” He tilted his head, clearly thinking. “Still, it brings to mind again just how useful these bicycles may be. They are an efficient mode of transport. And where there is efficiency, there is always the potential for a clever criminal to employ it for his own ends.”  
  
“Oh no.” I knew what Holmes was thinking. He had been briefly fascinated by bicycles after the adventures experienced by Miss Violet Smith, which I chronicled as ‘The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist.’ That interest was abruptly curtailed after his attempt to learn to ride one – an attempt in which he involved me, which seemed prudent at first, but swiftly resulted in his competitive nature being unable to tolerate my natural athleticism’s swift mastery of the machine – resulted in a spectacular crash that left him laid up with a wrenched ankle for almost a month, and me ready to rip out my hair trying to deal with a bored detective-patient by the end of the first week. “You can’t be thinking of taking up bicycling again.”  
  
“You were saying just last week that I should add more exercise to my regimen.” Holmes gave me a sly look. “Not to mention lamenting what the lack of exercise has been doing to your own person.” His grin softened as he easily read my concern. “No fear, Watson. I learned my lesson the last time. This time I shall take things slowly, at least to start. And we shall go on holiday to some nice spot in the country, where there are plenty of well-packed, deserted country lanes that file past soft fields of grass to land in. Much better than trying to learn to ride on the cobblestones of London, don’t you agree?”  
  
Everything Holmes said was true, and I was as unable to resist his logic – and the persuasive power of his intent grey eyes – as ever. “If that is indeed your intent, Holmes, then yes, it sounds like a sensible plan. You might even enjoy yourself.”  
  
“I expect we both will.” His grin returned full-force, and I found myself returning it.  
  
After all, learning to ride bicycles might prove very handy someday. And as long as Holmes didn’t hurt himself, it could be a great deal of fun, too.  
  
Or so I hoped!


End file.
